UltraKick is an obsessive bass drum synth for Max for Live [Hands-on]

You’ve seen kick drums that emulate the 808 and such, or synths with a couple knobs. UltraKick goes way past that, for complete sound control.

If you’re content to just drop four Roland sounds on the floor and leave them there, move along – nothing to see here. UltraKick represents months of obsessive work by creator Daan Pothoven for a different breed of producer – someone who wants to dive deep inside a sound and transform every detail.

That doesn’t mean it’s intimidating, though. Oh, sure, you might forget that it was a kick you were trying to make in the first place, because this is kind of an interesting experimental synth for all sorts of deep sounds. But everything’s graphical, it’s loaded up with some useful presets, and it’s intuitive enough to make minor or major tweaks inside that bang of the drum.

Here’s a little tour of the UI:

The architecture is simple but much more open than most kick drum synths out there. There two oscillators plus one noise generator. Each oscillator gives you control over 8 partials for additive synthesis-style kick sculpting. Then by overlaying envelopes for pitch and amplitude in the same UI, and updating the resulting waveform onscreen as you make adjustments, you can draw in the way you want your kick to sound and get instant results.

It’s also uncommonly easy to tune, thanks to this architecture, since you can move things up and down with a single click.

From there, there’s a rich semi-modular “audio flow” section you can use for distortion, effects, spread, and the like.

Everything is organized in an easy, “what-if” format, so you can click to randomize settings or transpose or punch in precise values or call up presets for different sections.

The main display places envelope overlays (for pitch and amplitude) atop a graphical display of the resulting waveform.

Hey, there’s a two-oscillator additive synth in here! Graphical editors for partials lets you shape each of two oscillators. There’s a noise oscillator to mix in, too.

An interactive EQ tab is included, as well, to filter and sculpt the sound you want.

As if that weren’t enough, a modular section allows routing of additional effects. It’s fully integrated with the architecture, rather than feeling like an add-on.

My only gripe with the whole thing is, this being built as a very elaborate Max for Live patch, performance can be a bit sluggish at times. I rather hope this catches on enough to merit a ground-up native plug-in. On the other hand, I think there’s no doubt that if you own Max for Live, you’ll get your thirty bucks’ worth. (Pricing is £23.99 / €30 / US$36).

You can also count on exceptional support, as the tool is seeing release via Isotonik Studios, who have built various monster tools for Novation and Ableton (and seen some regular coverage round these parts).

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audience is coming from. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Please read our Privacy Policy.